US: 'We were not informed'

2004-03-08 18:02

Harare - US Embassy officials have said that the were not informed of the decision by Zimbabwean authorities to seize a US-registered cargo plane, and are trying to get more information from Harare.

Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi said on Monday that the plane was carrying 64 "suspected mercenaries" and military equipment.

The Boeing 727-100 was detained at Harare's main airport late on Sunday after its owners allegedly made "a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Mohadi said at a news briefing.

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," Mohadi said. "Further investigations also revealed that on board was military material."

It was not immediately clear where the plane had come from, or what its purpose was.

Mohadi gave no further information, but said full details would be released once officials have established "the true identities of the men and their ultimate mission."

Journalists were not shown the plane, which Mohadi said had been moved to a nearby military base, and the government's claims could not be independently verified.

President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly accused the United States and Britain of plotting to overthrow his autocratic regime.

In 1999, three American missionaries were arrested at Harare International Airport trying to board a homeward Swissair flight with a stockpile of more than 20 rifles and handguns in their baggage.

Accused of plotting to assassinate Mugabe, the trio were jailed for eight months. They said the arms were for self-defense during three year's work among converts in war-torn Congo.

Zimbabwe faces its worst political and economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980. The government's often-violent seizure of thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks has plunged the country into turmoil.

- AP